Roxane McDonald heading back to school

GRAVENHURST - What a difference a year can make.
In January 2012 Roxane McDonald had nothing much more than her late-model station wagon to call home, a few meager belongings stashed in back and the hope buried deep in her heart things would get better. January 2013 and the months ahead bring their share of challenges for the 45-year-old single mother and once-homeless woman from Gravenhurst but those are no longer finding a hot meal, warmth or clean water. Roxy’s going back to school.
“Things are moving now; it’s still very hard to make all the ends meet but so may people have been such a big help,” she said.
McDonald said the last few months have been a bit of a whirlwind. At the end of October the communities of Bala and Torrance rallied around McDonald, collected her off the streets of Gravenhurst and brought her to her own apartment, owned by Kimberly Ellis, owner of Bala Chippers Fish and Chips. McDonald still has to provide a full $700-plus rent for the shelter, but thanks to the continued support of anonymous donors and members of the First Muskoka Congregational Christian Church her rent through at least February is covered. She and her dog Shaggy were reunited and provided food, some furnishings and simple accoutrements for the apartment and some individual donors have also fronted funds so she can return to school. That doesn’t mean it’s all smooth sailing now.
Throughout her ordeal, McDonald has been focused on returning to school to finish off professional fundraising courses. A degenerative knee condition knocked her off her feet in late 2011 and was one of the factors in making her homeless for more than a year. That condition has now affected her left knee and requires surgery at some point later this winter. She had a part-time job working for the Gravenhurst Tim Horton’s until the first week of January, when her knee condition forced the two to separate so her financial intake has taken another hit.
“I’m really anxious to just get the schooling over and done with so I can get back to work; this has all been frustrating,” she said.
Because she had been the subject of a great deal of charity and community fundraising, McDonald has had her social benefits drastically trimmed putting extra strain on her finances and those of her donors.
“We were hoping that between what benefits she was getting, her part-time job and the community’s support she’d be able to start building a fund to help cover her expenses, but now that she’s getting less government support it’s tough,” said Linda Hutton of the First Muskoka Congregational Christian Church (FMCCC) and co-founder of the church’s Mustard Seed Fund that has been used to support McDonald. “Now it’s almost impossible to keep gas in her car.
“But it’s an ongoing process and it is going to be a problem to keep Roxy out of her car,” she added.
There are other punches McDonald’s been rolling with as well that make the path to success a bit rockier.
“I was saddened to be told that the story around Gravenhurst is that I have a drug problem. If that were the case then I would have gotten help,” McDonald said. “How disappointing that such horrible things get said; I even had a text come to my phone telling me that I should kill myself as no one cares about me. This tells me that society needs a lot of help. I could not imagine being so cruel to anybody.”
So with the good, there’s been the bad, but McDonald’s focus is clear and unwavering. She gives great thanks to the Huttons, Ellis, the communities of Bala and Torrance and the individuals who have seen fit to help her get back on her feet.
“They are very wonderful people; what beautiful people to do this for me,” she said, adding it was cathartic when she was told she had been approved for school, starting Jan. 11, and had been given the funds for three of her six required online courses thanks only to the charity of strangers who couldn’t bare to let the woman live on the streets anymore. “We were crying (and) laughing all at same time. I think somebody upstairs might just like me.”
To contribute to the Mustard Seed Fund on behalf of McDonald or for its general coffers, make cheques to FMCCC, Box 685 Bala, P0C 1A0 and people can specify in a note if the donation is for McDonald or for the general fund.